Old Items Find New Homes: East Brunswick Freecycling Event Oct. 27

The Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission (The Friends) will hold its fall Freecycling event on Sunday, Oct. 27 at the East Brunswick High School. Freecycling is a way for residents to pass items they no longer need onto others who could use them. Freecycle is a network of people in the U.S. and around the world who arrange for free exchange of items, keeping them out of the waste stream. The Friends, along with fellow sponsoring agencies, have hosted several successful Freecycling events.

Due to its proximity to the Rutgers New Brunswick campus, not surprisingly, founding members and coordinators of The Friends — East Brunswick residents themselves — all have ties to Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. Liti Haramaty is a marine sciences researcher at Rutgers Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences while David Moskowitz is completing a Ph.D. in Entomology. Fred Stratton, a member of the commission, is a Rutgers alumnus (CC ’83), with several of his five sons having graduated from or currently attending the uniersity. Many of the volunteers who assist at various events hosted by The Friends are also affiliated with Rutgers.

According to Haramaty, there have been some improvements to the event this year. “The fall 2013 Freecycling event will be held at a new location – East Brunswick High School parking lot, across from the sports fields, near Summerhill Road. This location provides us with a larger area for displaying items, better and safer traffic flow for both cars and people, a better place for loading large items and more parking space.”

Moskowitz encourages residents to check their attics, basements and garages for unwanted items. “Freecycling offers a fun and environmentally friendly way to find new homes and uses for things we don’t want or need any longer. It is a great way of giving a new life to things that would otherwise likely end up in a landfill and all of the social, economic and environmental benefits that come from that.”

The environmental benefits from Freecycling are impressive. Stratton notes, “To date, we have saved approximately 110 tons of solid waste from entering our local landfill by having these many different items – clothes, toys, books, furniture, sporting equipment, and more – repurposed or recycled.”

Beyond the environmental benefits of Freecycling, there are other advantages to communities. “Freecyling is a fun event that can be replicated in any town or neighborhood. You can bring many different items to leave for others to pick up. As one of the organizers, it is satisfying to witness the excitement, especially in children, in finding that gently used bicycle or book,” adds Stratton.

“Freecycling is a community event where people spend a few hours socializing with friends while ‘shopping’ for treasures,” explains Haramaty.

East Brunswick Freecycling events are also sponsored by the East Brunswick Recycling Center, East Brunswick Division of Recreation, Parks and Community Services, East Brunswick Public Schools, and R. Mor Enterprises Inc., which recycles the items that remain after the event.

Items for the Freecycling event are accepted from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Oct. 27. Items are available for pick up until 3 p.m. For more information on what is acceptable as well as to get directions, visit http://www.friendsebec.com/freecycling.htm.